Systems and methods for monitoring subjects in potential physiological distress

• US 20100274100A1
• Filed: 08/10/2006
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adidas AG
• Original Assignee: Adidas AG
• Inventors: Cobb, Jeff, Derchak, Alex, Darnall, Dave, Keenan, Barry, Behar, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,492,084 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0431 Portable apparatus, e.g. comprising a handle or case
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4884 inducing physiological or psychological stress, e.g. applications for stress testing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoring in real time the physiological status of one or more subjects, especially subject engaged in potentially hazardous or dangerous activities. Systems include wearable items with one or more physiological sensors and a local data unit (LDU) operatively coupled to the sensors. The LDUs digitize and filter sensor data, extract physiological parameters, determine abnormal or not acceptable physiological conditions, and communicate to external monitoring facilities. The external facilities display status and data concerning monitored subjects. In preferred embodiments, communication between the LDUs and the external monitoring facilities dynamically adjusts to the condition of the subjects and to system changes such as subjects and external facilities entering and leaving and/or moving from place to place. The invention also provides program products for performing this invention'"'"'s methods.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A portable monitoring apparatus for real-time monitoring of an ambulatory subject comprising:

a wearable item comprising one or more sensors, said sensors providing one or more signals responsive to the physiology of an ambulatory subject wearing said item; and

a portable data unit local to said wearable item comprising a processing device that

retrieves and processes said sensor signals in order to determine physiological information comprising indication of whether a physiological state of said subject is normal or not and/or is acceptable or not;

present to a wearer items selected from said physiological information; and

transmit items selected from said physiological information from said portable data unit to a location remote from said portable data unit, said items selected in dependence on said physiological state of said monitored subject.

30. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said location remote from said portable data unit is less than approximately 1,000 meters from said portable data unit.

31. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said portable data unit is incorporated into, and/or carried by, and/or worn on said wearable item during the ambulatory monitoring of said subject.

32. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein, if said physiological state is acceptable and/or normal, said items consist essentially of said acceptable and/or normal indication.

33. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein, if said physiological state is not acceptable and/or not normal, said items transmitted comprise some or all of said sensor data and/or said physiological information.

34. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said remote location commands said portable data unit to transmit selected items, and wherein said portable data unit transmits said selected items.

35. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said transmitting comprises wireless transmission.

36. The portable apparatus of claim 29 further comprising directing said wireless transmission to a current remote location selected from one or more candidate remote locations.

37. The portable apparatus of claim 36 further comprising:

selecting a new remote location from said candidates remote locations that is different from said current remote locations; and

directing future wireless transmissions to said new remote location and ceasing to direct future wireless transmissions to said remote location.

38. The portable apparatus of claim 37 wherein remote locations transmit to said portable data unit, and wherein said new remote location currently has the greatest signal strength at said portable data unit of said other candidate remote locations.

39. The portable apparatus of claim 37 wherein remote locations are assigned priorities, and wherein said selected remote location currently has the greatest priority at portable data unit of said other candidate remote locations.

40. The portable apparatus of claim 29 where said selected items are encrypted prior to transmission.

41. The portable apparatus of claim 29 where said wearable item comprises one or more of a band, and/or a shirt, and/or a body shirt and/or garment.

42. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said wearable item comprises a band into which said portable data unit is incorporated.

43. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said wearable item comprises a garment and a band attachable to said garment, wherein said portable data unit is incorporated into the band.

44. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said retrieving and processing further comprises digitizing signal from those sensors providing analog signals.

45. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said sensors comprise one or more of cardiac sensors, and/or respiratory sensors, and/or accelerometer sensors, and/or electrocardiogram sensors, and/or electroencephalogram sensors, and/or electro-oculogram sensors, and/or electro-myogram sensors, and/or surface or core temperature sensors, and/or blood oxygen saturation, and/or sound sensors, and/or ultrasound sensors, and/or ballistic impact sensors, and/or electrical impedance sensors.

46. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said sensors comprise one or more size sensors responsive to a size of the rib-cage and/or to a size of the abdomen.

47. The portable apparatus of claim 46 wherein one or more of said size sensors is based in inductive plethysmographic technology.

48. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said sensors comprise a posture sensor and/or an activity-level sensor.

49. The portable apparatus of claim 48 wherein at least one of said posture and/or said activity-level sensors comprises one or more accelerometers.

50. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said wearable item is configured to be worn by a human wearer.

51. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said wearable item is configured to be worn by a non-human wearer.

52. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said portable data unit stores some or all of said sensor signals and/or said physiological information.

53. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said physiological information further comprises one or more physiological parameters and/or temporal trends of said physiological parameters, and wherein said physiological state is further determined in dependence on one or more of said determined physiological parameters and/or trends.

54. The portable apparatus of claim 53 wherein said physiological parameters further comprise one or more parameters from the group consisting of parameters describing a subject'"'"'s lung function, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s cardiac function, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s posture, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s activity, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s temperature, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s ventilatory thresholds, parameters describing a subject'"'"'s energy consumption, and parameters describing a subject'"'"'s level of heat stress.

55. The portable apparatus of claim 53 wherein said physiological state is further determined by comparing values of one or more physiological parameters and/or trends, and/or combinations of said parameters and/or trends, to values said parameters and/or trends and/or combinations that are known to be acceptable or normal.

56. The portable apparatus of claim 29 wherein said processing device comprises a microprocessor and/or a field programmable gate array.

57. A method for real-time monitoring of a team having a plurality of subjects, each subject being monitored by physiological sensors, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a library of subject data, said subject data including a plurality of baseline physiological parameters, said baseline physiological parameters including baseline cardiac rate, cardiac stroke volume, respiration rate, respiration tidal volume and minute ventilation;

obtaining physiological sensor data from each subject belonging to the team, said sensor data including anatomical data representing time varying cross-sectional areas about the abdomen and chest;

determining at least one physiological parameter as a function of said anatomical data, said determined physiological parameter being selected from the group consisting of subject specific cardiac stroke volume, respiration rate, respiratory tidal volume and minute ventilation;

determining subject specific status information for each subject as a function of said obtained physiological sensor data, said determined physiological parameter and said library of subject data, said status information including at least one indication of whether said determined physiological parameter of a subject is normal or abnormal and/or is acceptable or unacceptable;

presenting in real time at the location of and to each subject physiological status associated with at least a first subject, said physiological status including said subject specific status information associated with said first subject;

transmitting wirelessly said subject specific status information to at least one selected external monitoring unit, and

displaying at least a portion of said subject specific status information at said selected external monitoring unit.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein, for each subject, said steps of obtaining physiological sensor data, determining subject specific status information, and presenting subject specific status information include the use of a portable data unit.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein a plurality of available external monitoring units are provided, and wherein said selected external monitoring unit is selected from said plurality of available external monitoring units.

60. The method of claim 57, wherein said physiological status associated with said first subject includes said determined physiological parameter.

62. The method of claim 59, wherein one external monitoring unit of said plurality of available external monitoring units has a higher signal strength than the remaining available external monitoring units, and wherein said selected external monitoring unit comprises said external monitoring unit having the higher signal strength.

63. The method of claim 57, wherein said transmitted subject specific status information is transmitted in dependence on whether a determined physiological parameter associated with a subject is normal or abnormal.

64. The method of claim 59, wherein each of said plurality of available external monitoring units has an assigned priority, and wherein said selected external monitoring unit is selected based on said assigned priorities.

65. The method of claim 57, wherein said displaying step further comprises displaying at least one icon for each subject, said icon representing at least a portion of said transmitted subject specific status information associated with each subject.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein said status information further comprises location information associated with each subject, and wherein said icons are displayed in a layout representing the actual physical locations of the represented subjects.

67. The method of claim 57, wherein said library of subject data includes temporal trends of said physiological parameters, said temporal trends describing physiological functioning, and wherein said indication of said determined physiological parameter is further determined in dependence on at least one of said temporal trends.

61. (canceled)

68-78. -78. (canceled)

79. A method for real-time monitoring of a plurality of ambulatory subjects comprising:

extracting one or more physiological parameters and/or temporal trends of physiological parameters for each subject from sensor data monitored from each subject;

comparing the parameters and/or trends determined for each subject to that subject'"'"'s pre-determined physiological responses to increasing energy consumption;

determining whether or not each subject is functioning below, in the vicinity of, or above that subject'"'"'s individual Tvent threshold; and

presenting alarms in real time to those subjects determined to be functioning above their individual Tvent threshold.

80. The method of claim 79 wherein Tvent is determined as the region where the subject'"'"'s physiological response transitions from a lower work output form to a higher work output form.

81. The method of claim 79 wherein the incremental physiological responses of the subject to incremental work output by the subject increases from a baseline value to an elevated value.

82. The method of claim 79 wherein a subject'"'"'s Tvent threshold comprises a minute ventilation threshold, and wherein the subject is functioning above the Tvent threshold when the subject'"'"'s minute ventilation exceeds the minute ventilation threshold.

83. The method of claim 79 wherein determining a subject'"'"'s physiological responses to increasing energy consumption comprises:

extracting one or more physiological parameters and/or temporal trends of physiological parameters for the subject from sensor data monitored when the subject performs a plurality of increasingly demanding activities;

measuring energy consumption during each activity; and

calibrating the extracted parameters with the measured energy consumption at each activity.

84. The method of claim 83 wherein the subject'"'"'s minute ventilation is extracted monitored from respiratory parameters, and wherein the extracted minute ventilation is calibrated against the subject'"'"'s measured energy consumption.

85. The method of claim 83 wherein the physiological parameters describe one of respiratory function, cardiac, function, posture activity, energy consumption, and the body temperature.

86. The method of claim 83 wherein the physiological parameters comprise one or more a heart rate, a respiration rate, a body temperature, an energy consumption rate, and trends thereof.

87. The method of claim 83 wherein the energy consumption is directly measured from measured metabolic information.

88. The method of claim 83 wherein energy consumption is indirectly measured in dependence on characteristics of measured accelerometer signals, the accelerometer signal characteristics having previously been calibrated to directly-determined energy consumption.

89. The method of claim 79 wherein energy consumption is derived by correlating the parameters describing an activity level, activity type, cardiac function, and respiratory function of a subject.

90. The method of claim 79 further comprising:

extracting energy consumption for each subject from sensor data monitored from each subject;

determining whether or not the extracted physiological parameters and/or trends exceed the parameters and/or trends expected from pre-determined physiological responses to increasing energy consumption at the extracted energy consumption; and

if the pre-determined responses are exceeded, presenting alarms of increased urgency in real time to those subjects determined to be functioning above their pre-determined physiological responses to increasing energy consumption.

91-93. -93. (canceled)